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architecture and design magazineTue, 31 Mar 2015 18:04:48 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1ALA's Kuopio City Theatre extension features a crinkled facadehttp://www.dezeen.com/2014/10/13/ala-architects-kuopio-city-theatre-extension-finland-crinkled-facade/
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/10/13/ala-architects-kuopio-city-theatre-extension-finland-crinkled-facade/#commentsMon, 13 Oct 2014 07:00:54 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=564574Crinkled fibre-cement panels clad the facade of this theatre extension by Finnish studio ALA Architects in the city of Kuopio, complementing the concrete exterior of the original 1960s building (+ slideshow). The faceted facade of Kuopio City Theatre's new extension was chosen by ALA to echo the white concrete panels on the original building, which the architects […]

Crinkled fibre-cement panels clad the facade of this theatre extension by Finnish studio ALA Architects in the city of Kuopio, complementing the concrete exterior of the original 1960s building (+ slideshow).

The faceted facade of Kuopio City Theatre's new extension was chosen by ALA to echo the white concrete panels on the original building, which the architects have also refurbished.

The crinkled surface is designed to improve acoustics for an outdoor stage at the foot of the external stairs.

"We wanted the extension to have the same gravitas and permanence of the original theatre, which is clad in beautiful white concrete panels, so we chose the same material but with a distinctive shape, reminiscent of the acoustic lining inside the new hall," architect Antti Nousjoki told Dezeen.

It juts out from the side of the original theatre, which is dominated by a rectangular tower raised above the ground on columns.

"The theatre company can produce enough shows for two stages with their current artistic and support staff, and they wanted a modern, flexible flat-floor hall for contemporary pieces," said Nousjoki.

"The number of visiting productions has also increased remarkably. To cater for today's logistical needs, loading has been re-organised and a new lift has been placed between the two stages," he said.

The facade and interior of the original building, designed in the 1960s by architects Helmer Stenros and Risto-Veikko Luukkonen, were refreshed with new materials that echo the old, and a glazed roof extension was added to provide more height for stage sets.

The glazed roof extension also features LED lights and a reflective metal sheet inside to create colourful lighting displays, turning the tower into what Nousjoki describes as "a gigantic beacon".

"When approaching the theatre from the direction of the city centre, the only visible alteration is the four-metre add-on to the original stage tower," he said.

"It forms a glowing glass lantern that leaves the distinctive shape of the old tower recognisable, while inviting public to the theatre."

The theatre has four floors, with technical facilities in the basement, an orchestra pit, wardrobes and an entrance foyer on the ground floor, main foyers and stages on the first floor, and rehearsal spaces and offices on the second floor.

Inside, the architects have embraced theatricality with double-height spaces, large glazed sections that offer transparency through the building, and a pyramid-shaped staircase that was part of the original theatre, which doubles as a raked seating area.

"It was very important to bring elements of show business to the theatre," said Nousjoki. "These elements include the lights, the beacon-like stage tower, the pyramid stairs, and different vantage points to observe or be observed while entering and exiting the halls."

Slats of local pine line the ceilings inside the theatre, and white square lounges with a raised centre were designed by ALA to echo the 1960s style of the original structure.

]]>http://www.dezeen.com/2014/10/13/ala-architects-kuopio-city-theatre-extension-finland-crinkled-facade/feed/0ALA Architects wins Helsinki library competitionhttp://www.dezeen.com/2013/06/14/ala-architects-wins-helsinki-library-competition/
http://www.dezeen.com/2013/06/14/ala-architects-wins-helsinki-library-competition/#commentsFri, 14 Jun 2013 12:02:04 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=325444News: Finnish studio ALA Architects has won the international competition to design a new public library in Helsinki with plans that involve a mass of twisted timber (+ slideshow). Launched in January 2012, the competition asked applicants to come up with a timeless, flexible and energy-efficient building to sit opposite the Finnish Parliament building in […]

News: Finnish studio ALA Architects has won the international competition to design a new public library in Helsinki with plans that involve a mass of twisted timber (+ slideshow).

Launched in January 2012, the competition asked applicants to come up with a timeless, flexible and energy-efficient building to sit opposite the Finnish Parliament building in the Töölönlahti area of the city.

ALA Architects' response is for a three-storey structure comprising a contorted timber volume. Public activities and group study areas will occupy an active ground floor beneath the curving wooden surfaces, while a traditionally quiet reading room will be located above and a contemporary media facility and public sauna will be housed in the middle.

Two main entrances will provide access to the building. A public plaza in front of the western facade is to lead into a main lobby, where a staircase will spiral up to the floors above, while a second entrance will face the railway station to the south and offer an escalator that penetrates the wooden volume overhead.

"The architecture of the proposal is of a very high quality, executed with relaxed, broad strokes, and memorable," commented the competition organisers.

They added: "The proposal provides excellent premises for the development of a completely new functional concept for the library. The building has a unique appeal and the prerequisites to become the new symbolic building which Helsinki residents, library users, as well as the staff will readily adopt as their own."

ALA Architects, who is also based in Helsinki, plans to use local materials such as Siberian larch to construct the Helsinki Central Library and it is scheduled to open in 2018.

ALA Architects have won the design competition for the new Helsinki Central Library with their entry Käännös. The open international two-stage competition attracted 544 entries from all over the world. The 16,000 square metre library building in the heart of Helsinki will consist almost entirely of public spaces and will offer a wide selection of services. It will serve as the new central point for the city's impressive public library network. The Central Library is slated to open in 2018.

The winning entry is based on the idea of dividing the functions of the library into three distinctive levels: an active ground floor, a calm upper floor, and an enclosed in-between volume containing the more specific functions. This concept has been developed into an arching form that invites people to utilise the spaces and services underneath, inside and on top of it. The resulting building will be an inspiring and highly functional addition to the urban life of Helsinki and the nationally significant Töölönlahti area.

ALA is one of the leading Nordic architecture firms. The office has previously completed the Kilden Performing Arts Centre in Kristiansand, Norway, and is currently working on a number of large public projects in Finland including two theaters, five subway stations, and a passenger ferry hub. Käännös has been designed by ALA partners Juho Grönholm, Antti Nousjoki, Janne Teräsvirta and Samuli Woolston together with the ALA project team, assisted by the engineering experts at Arup.

Description of the winning entry Käännös

Käännös grows from the dynamic between the site and the goals of the library program. The interplay between the building's three individual floors is the key concept of the entry.

The public plaza in front of the building will continue inside, merging with a catalogue of meeting and experience features. The ground floor will be a robust, busy and frequently updated space suitable for quick visits and walkthroughs. The active, zero-threshold public spaces will be visible, attractive, understandable and welcoming to all visitors.

The traditional, serene library atmosphere can be found on the top floor. This will be a calm area for contemplation, floating above the busy central Helsinki. It will offer unobstructed, majestic views to the surrounding park and cityscape.These two contrasting spaces that perfectly complement each other are created by an arching wooden volume. The spaces inside the volume will be enclosed and more intimate. The wooden volume is stretched vertically to create connections to the open main floors below and above. Soft, curved shapes will be present all around the building.

The curved ceiling covering the ground floor, the intensive flowing spaces on the middle level, as well as the curving floor surface of the top floor are all defined in the timber-clad mass, which is as functional as it is expressive.

There will be three public entrance points in the building: one in the south for the main pedestrian flow from the direction of the Central Railway Station, one next to the public plaza to the west of the building shielded by an overhanging canopy, as well as a secondary one in the northeastern corner. The top floor can be reached from the southern entrance by an escalator that penetrates the wooden volume, or from the main lobby via a spiraling double-helix stair.

Each floor will be a destination in its own right and a new exciting civic space in the heart of Helsinki. While being a traditional library space, the top floor will also act as a modern, open, flexible platform for a multitude of functions. The middle floor will offer opportunities for learning-by-doing in an environment optimised for contemporary media and latest tools. It will contain workshop spaces for music and multimedia, as well as a public sauna. A multipurpose hall, a restaurant and a cinema will be located on ground floor. The library's facilities will offer services, as well as places to meet, to discuss, and to present ideas.

The library building will be extremely energy efficient. It will be constructed using local materials and with local climate conditions in mind. Some of the main load-bearing components will be made of timber. The wooden façade will be built from pre-assembled elements finished on-site. 30 millimetre thick Finnish first grade Siberian Larch wood, shaped with a parametric 3D design and manufacturing process in order to achieve a perfect execution of the desired geometry, will be used for the cladding. The appearance of the façade will develop over the years towards a deeper, richer version of its initial hue. The design of the façade is intrinsic to the passive design approach adopted by the project team. Detailed analysis of the façade performance informs the environmental solutions and has allowed the team to minimise any systems required, which in turn facilitates the highly flexible architectural solution.

Helsinki Central Library will serve as the new center point for Helsinki's impressive public library network. It will be located in the very heart of Helsinki, in the Töölönlahti area, opposite the Finnish Parliament building. As its neighbors it will have some of the city's most important public buildings; the Helsinki Music Centre, the Sanoma House, the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art designed by Steven Holl, Alvar Aalto's Finlandia Hall, and the Central Railway Station by Eliel Saarinen, as well as several new office and residential buildings still partially under construction on the site of a former railway yard.

The open international two-stage architectural competition was launched in January 2012, and attracted 544 entries from all over the world. The six entries selected for further development for the second phase of the competition were announced in November 2012. The Central Library is slated to open in 2018.

The goal of the competition has been to find a timeless and energy-efficient design solution that responds to the challenges set by the location. The library building should complement and adjust to the urban fabric of the Töölönlahti area. The building is to express the operational concepts of a library in a way that offers a technically and spatially flexible framework for cutting-edge, adaptable library operations, now and in the future. It will reflect the technical and cultural changes taking place in the society, particularly evident in the media world.

Library operations are statutory in Finland. Basic library services are free of charge and freely available to everyone. The new 16,000 square metre (approx. 172,000 square foot) library building will consist almost entirely of public spaces. The administrative and storage functions of Helsinki Public Library will remain at the main library in Pasila. In terms of services offered, the new library will be the largest public library in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and will most certainly become the metropolitan area's most popular spot for returns and reservations. It has been estimated that the library will attract 5,000 visitors per day and 1.5 million visitors per year.

The new library will be at the forefront of the renewal of the city's library services. In addition to the basic operations, there will be a wide range of services available inside the building, as well as an abundance of lounge spaces and auxiliary services that support the operations. The library will enliven and diversify the new urban environment created in the Töölönlahti area. It will offer activities and experiences for all ages. There will be plenty of spaces that enable people to spend time together, free of charge. The role of the clients will evolve from passive media users to active agents, participants and content producers. As a non-commercial open public space, the new Helsinki Central Library will act as a common living room and work space.

The Performing Arts Centre “KILDEN” will house three organizations: the ‘Agder Theater’, the ‘Kristiansand Philharmonic’ and the ‘Opera South’.

The four performance halls are lined up in the mid-zone of the building leaving the production -spaces to the east and audience -spaces to the west side.

Further on the west along the waterside, a huge cantilevered roof will cover both the public city-space by the sea and the foyer space which provides access to the shows.

Waterfront-facade clad with local oak follows the forms defined by the halls and creates a surface separating real world from the illusional.

URBAN IDENTITY

The urban character of the new theatre- and concert hall building should not only express the functionality of the project. The building will have a major impact on the cultural identity of the city of Kristiansand and the whole region. The architectural expression has to be instantly recognisable and unique. There is a strong demand for a cultural landmark building.

Often in theatres the fly tower reflects the buildings function, acting simultaneously as a landmark. On this shore the role of the tower has already been taken by the silo. The signature image of the performing arts centre should be built with other means.

The main concept of the Teater- og Konserthus design is the series of performance spaces, which has been shaped out to act as a sign in the cityscape. This undulating, unified surface forms a dramatic lobby and foyer between the performance halls and the shoreline. The relationship of the building with the canal and the sea has strong tension and drama.

ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION

The undulating main façade acts as a surface separating reality from fantasy. This line is crossed as you step into the hall from the foyer. The other façades consist of a vertical folded surface giving the building a subdued elegant form, enhancing the foyer wall as the signifying form of the building. The audience is instinctively drawn towards the public foyer. The building has a desire to please the public, to be popular and understandable to everybody.

The foyer wall is built of local wood, most likely oak. This further emphasises the warm, inviting character of the foyer space. The vertically folded dark facades are made of sharply detailed, stained metal sheets, most likely of brass or copper.

The building is a sharp object with an almost exaggerated clarity of expression. It stands proudly in the rough industrial surroundings. The building creates elegant public and performing spaces and rough, functional production facilities. All this is combined into a shape of an elegant machine –a building as an instrument.

FUNCTIONAL CONCEPT

The striking exterior appearance of the project is the first thing the visitor experiences. It is, however, a result of a careful analytical design process. The main functional concept is to organise all the production facilities of the building along a straight indoor street wide enough for trucks and deliver sets, instruments and materials. The performance halls are arranged to the other side of the street.

The order of the auditoriums is determined by the relations to the production facilities, the relations to the exterior logistics, and the relations between the auditoriums themselves. The main stage theatre hall is located so that the stage opens directly to the set-building workshops. This unit is on the southern end of the building to allow for easier loading and unloading of material. The flerbruksal and the biscene are located on both sides of the main stage for easy co-operation and share of facilities.

The concert hall is located at the northern end of the production street. The underbelly of the auditorium creates a memorable beginning for the curving foyer wall. The support facility zone diminishes next to the concert hall, allowing for the chamfered corner of the volume at the tightest corner of the building site.

FOUR ZONES

The Theater- og konserthus consists of four parallel zones. The public foyer zone is the expressive, free flowing area of improvisation. The public meets each other. Temporary exhibitions and performances are presented. Parties and congresses are held. The foyer zone is easy to navigate- the public can easily find their way to the different auditoriums and support functions.

The auditoriums form the second zone between the foyer and the production street. They are conceived as individual, high-performance instruments for music and theatre production and performance. The architectural expression of the halls is formal and precise. They have a touch and feel of units with multiple uses and a very high level of technical functionality.

The production street is the third functional zone. The street is six meters wide and has full-height doors in both ends. The street ensures great flexibility between the auditoriums and the production facilities. The street also acts as an extra production and assembly space, as well as short-term storage.

The fourth functional zone consists of the production workshops, storage units and workplaces for the staff. This zone opens both to the production streets and the corridors directly above it, and to the outside through windows of the long eastern elevation.

SUSTAINABILITY

Public buildings are an integral part of a socially sustainable environment.

The materials are of local sources. Kristiansand was built on the export of oak to Europe in the 16th century: The main undulating façade of Kilden is built of local oak, CNC milled and fully treated in Kristiansand.

The other three facades are to be made of aluminium from the factory across the fjord. The concrete factory supplying the building site is located 200 meters down the pier. Where relevant, local companies are supplying the project with their expertise, workforce and materials.

Click above for larger image

The building is heated and cooled by district systems covering the whole of central Kristiansand.

]]>http://www.dezeen.com/2012/03/30/kilden-performing-arts-centreby-ala-architects/feed/16Kilden performing arts centre by ALA Architectshttp://www.dezeen.com/2008/08/11/kilden-performing-arts-centre-by-ala-architects/
http://www.dezeen.com/2008/08/11/kilden-performing-arts-centre-by-ala-architects/#commentsMon, 11 Aug 2008 21:04:55 +0000http://www.dezeen.com/2008/08/11/kilden-performing-arts-centre-by-ala-architects/Here's a second new project by ALA Architects: construction is underway on Kilden performing arts centre in Kristiansand, Norway. The £117 million project will provide facilities for the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Opera South and a number of local theatre groups. Construction is expected to be completed in 2011. See our earlier story on the Tropaion […]

ALA Architects has been working on the competition-winning design of the new cultural landmark building “Kilden” in the southern Norwegian city of Kristiansand for three and a half years, and the results are beginning to show. The building is under construction on an old harbour site next to the city centre. The project has a gross floor area of 16 000 m2 and a total budget of 1,2 billion NOK.

Kilden will gather together all the city’s institutions of performing arts. Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra will have at its disposal a concert hall designed to accommodate 1200 attendees. Agder Theater, a regional group, will have a theater with a capacity of 700, excellent acoustics and advanced equipment with a stage tower.

The theater can be transformed to accommodate opera performances and will also house the ensemble Opera South. In addition, there will be a small stage for experimental theater and a multi-purpose hall with a level floor.

Kilden produces experiences. The core of its architecture is the way the concert, theater and multi-purpose halls are coordinated with the service areas. The halls are arranged in a row according to their functions, and the organization of the service areas allows common production equipment to serve all halls efficiently and without interference. The service areas are located on one side of the halls and the foyer on the other.

The varying forms of the auditoria will be covered by a curved wooden wall. The monumental abstract form of the wall, made of local oak, separates reality from fantasy. Passing through, the audience will move from natural landscape to the realm of performing arts.

The wall allures the audience and expresses the diversity of artistic performances housed by the building as well as the power induced by their combination. The wall made of spiral overlapping boards is not only a disguised theatrical effect but a concrete tactile artifact, which also improves the acoustics of the foyer.

The infinite blackness of the other facades emphasizes the spectacle of the curved wall in the foyer. The building is like an exclusive case for the instruments it encloses.

The international design team is putting finishing touches to working drawings at the moment. The site is a hotbed of activity with the pier being expanded to accommodate the building and the ground being prepared. A parking facility is being built across the road.

]]>http://www.dezeen.com/2008/08/11/kilden-performing-arts-centre-by-ala-architects/feed/16Tropaion by ALA Architectshttp://www.dezeen.com/2008/08/08/tropaion-by-ala-architects/
http://www.dezeen.com/2008/08/08/tropaion-by-ala-architects/#commentsFri, 08 Aug 2008 13:23:55 +0000http://www.dezeen.com/2008/08/08/tropaion-by-ala-architects/Tropaion is a residential project by Finnish architects ALA on the site of the former Hanasaari power station in Helsinki, Finland. The project was selected early last year in a competition run by Helsinki's planning department. Construction is set to begin early next year. The following is from ALA Architects: -- The planning of a […]

Tropaion is a residential project by Finnish architects ALA on the site of the former Hanasaari power station in Helsinki, Finland.

The project was selected early last year in a competition run by Helsinki's planning department. Construction is set to begin early next year.

The following is from ALA Architects:

--

The planning of a new 100 000 m2 residential area in downtown Helsinki is proceeding, with city planning authorities set to approve the regulation plan by the end of the year 2008. Construction of the first building is set to begin in 2009, after the land has been cleaned by the previous user, Helsinki Energy.

The site is an old industrial peninsula 3 kilometres from the Helsinki city centre. It was previously occupied by a coal-fired power plant. An invited design competition was organised by the city of Helsinki to produce a design for this challenging site. ALA was selected as the winner in march 2007. The site is very much part of the inner city of Helsinki and accessible by tram and other public transport as well as light traffic routes.

The scheme, called “Tropaion”, consists of five perimeter blocks of varying heights covered with roof terraces of the upper apartments. The blocks form a gigantic bowl shape with crossing sea views from all terraces and a sense of community and togetherness for the people. The courtyards will form semi-proivate spaces, which the residents of Helsinki are very fond of, and public streets with shops and services at street level. Building heights vary from 16 floors down to two, with varying housing typologies and apartments sizes included in the same blocks.

After that the winning design has been taken further in collaboration with the city planners. The regulation plan will be very strict, outlining the size and shape of the housing blocks to exact detail. The architectural details will be developed further when individual building design starts in early 2009, but it is already safe to say that this striking design will be implemented as proposed. This will introduce a whole new typology to the Finnish housing market and create an unique, dense and urban area with a lot of character –something there seems to be a big demand for in the heavily standardized housing market.